Recently, I posted a VOD of my Proving Ground Wave Endless 30 and was surprised to find that more people didn’t know about PG’s. I love me some Proving Grounds and helping others out. So, I’m back and wrote a guide Guardians could use to hopefully help a few of you get your Proven Defender title. All constructive criticism is welcome! Additionally, feel free to use the VOD as a visual reference if anything I’ve written needs further explanation.

Pre-Getting Down to Business

You’re going to be tested in your ability to quickly pick up new adds, effectively spreading out your CDs, and mitigating or reducing damage where you can. As the saying goes, “there is more than one way to skin a cat”. This is not the only way to complete this but it’s the way that made most sense to me. In order to succeed, you’re going to want to start by prepping your character in the following ways:

Major Glyphs

Fae Silence – Dem Interrupts.

Survival Insticts – Guardians rely on a serious amount of kiting and this Glyph provides a reliable source of mitigating damage that can be used for the two waves with the most threatening damage (7 & 9)

Talents

15: Feline Swiftness

30: Ysera’s Gift

45: Mass Entanglement

60: Force of Nature

75: Ursol’s Vortex

90: Heart of the Wild

Feline Swiftness is strong in PG’s because of all the kiting you’ll be doing.

Ysera’s Gift was a personal choice as I didn’t want to mess with any active healing. It’s a personal playstyle call for me. You may find that either Renewal or Cenarion Ward may be a better fit for how you play.

Mass Entanglement is IMO the only option in this tier in that it more effectively creates space between you and any adds you might be kiting over Typhoon.

Force of Nature is your MVP. This is your answer to Wind Guards that peel off of you. Use these trees to occupy adds–anything attacking a tree is damage you’re saving yourself from taking.

Ursol’s Vortex = lol kiting. I had

Heart of the Wild is a strong choice for the straight 6% you get to your stats. Dream of the Cenarius is a strong choice if you’re into casting Healing Touch in Bear form.

Be mindful that legendary gems and cloaks won’t proc in PG’s. If you run Heroic Dungeons to VP cap, keep on the lookout for any gear that could be useful in Proving Grounds.

Consider using the Ghost Iron Dragonling trinket. It’s sub 463 so it won’t get scaled down. The 3 cog sockets offer you a great chance to pick up hit, crit, and expertise if you’re having problems with your gear.

Mark in front of the doors with a raid marker. This will serve as a reference point for you later on. This is 12 oclock.

Getting Down to Business

Wowhead has done a wonderful write-up and most of the next bit is lifted from them. I’ll add my bear notes at the bottom of each wave

Notes: With ten total mobs, this is the biggest wave you will face in all of Proving Grounds. None of the mobs hit particularly hard on their own, but the combination of eight Foragers stacking Chomp and two Small Illusionary Ambushers can be dangerous. CC is valuable on this wave.

Wave Spawn @ 11 oclock.

Tank these mobs for 15s approx 15s. The two midwave adds will need to be picked up. Kite these around with Stampeding Roar and/or Dash. Ambushers should be pulled with FF if available.

Notes: A Large Illusionary Flamecaller and Large Illusionary Ripper spawn on opposing sides of the room in front of Sikari the Mistweaver. The Large Illusionary Rippers quickly make a beeline toward Sikari the Mistweaver, and picking them up should be no trouble. Bringing the Large Illusionary Flamecaller s together requires interrupts (FF or Charge). As long as the Large Illusionary Flamecaller s are not allowed to freely cast into Sikari the Mistweaver, all will be well and the lava will make quick work of the Large Illusionary Rippers.

Wave spawn @ 11 and 1 oclock. Sitting adds in lava can be hard. Don’t be afraid to quickly run through lava yourself if it means you’ll be able to park adds in a pool.

Notes: This is a dangerous combination of mechanics, but as it is only a three-mob wave, this is very manageable. Be prepared for the Large Illusionary Wind-Guard’s knock-back, be ready to move out of the Small Illusionary Conqueror’s Powerful Slam, and pick up the Large Illusionary Ambusher as it spawns. You can also let one of the Small Illusionary Flamecaller freecast into Sikari, to cut down on the amount of damage done to you. The biggest danger is that one of the mobs may survive into the following wave.

Wave spawn @ 12 oclock.

Don’t be afraid to put a treant on a Wind Guard if you want to spread incoming damage around. Wave is straightforward if you avoid Conqueror smashes. Use a Treant to babysit the Ambusher to avoid taking his damage. If the Wing Guard is still alive by the time the next wave starts, put a treant on the Wind Guard to babysit while you handle the incoming adds.

Notes: Use the lava to burn down the Small Illusionary Ripper, Small Illusionary Ambushers and any remaining mobs from last wave and the third Ambusher should be the only mob alive when it spawns. A solo Small Illusionary Ambusher is no danger. Whenever picking up Small Illusionary Ambushers while Lava Pool are active, position yourself so that when you taunt they will run through Lava Pool on their way to you. This should painlessly (for you) get them doused in lava without having to get close to it yourself.

Wave spawns @ 3 oclock. Always use FF over Taunt to pick up any loose Ambushers as it will generate sufficient aggro to pull them to you. Make sure to interrupt the Flamecaller soon after he spawns lava so you can begin burning them down in firepools. Try and end this wave with as much rage as possible in anticipation for the next wave.

Wave 6

Initial Spawns: Large Illusionary Wind-Guard x 3

Duration: 60 sec

Notes: This wave is incredibly beefy. Sikari the Mistweaver will only be dealing single-target damage, and this trio will often chain knockbacks to launch you well across the room and get some free dps time into Sikari the Mistweaver. Good use of the barricades and ranged threat will keep them off of her and on you. Chances are high that two of the three Large Illusionary Wind-Guard will be alive going into the following wave, and this is the most dangerous aspect of this wave if you handle knockbacks correctly.

Wave spawns @ 5,6, and 7 oclock.

Let the adds come close enough to you that they can be picked up with a single Thrash/Swipe. Use your banked rage to pop Savage Defense as attacks from all 3 of these Wind Guards hurt! Mass Entanglement the Wind Guards once they’re sufficiently away from your NPC. You’ll only have enough time this wave to kill 1 WindGuard so be prepared to take the other two WG’s into the next wave. Treant one or both of these to give yourself time to pick up the next wave.

Notes: The only significant danger in this wave is the Small Illusionary Conqueror’s Powerful Slam and the sheer number of mobs you will likely be facing. Bring as much CC and damage as you can to whittle their numbers down quickly, and you will fare well. Due to Sikari the Mistweaver’s lackluster single-target dps, you may wind up with a Small Illusionary Conqueror or even a Wind-Guard alive going into the next wave, but that shouldn’t be a threat.

Wave spawn @ 7 oclock.

IMO, this is the second hardest wave to manage because you’re going to have to manage 2 Wind Guards constantly dropping aggro while kiting around the 5 adds that just spawned.

This wave is all about managing your last 2 Wind Guard with treants and picking up the 5 additional adds about to rush your NPC. After picking up initial aggro on Wave 7, use Ursol’s Vortex to create distance between you and everything trying to kill you. By now, your NPC is AoEing everything down. If you’re mindful of keeping the Wind Guards off of her with treants and taunts the Conqueror won’t be difficult to survive.

Notes: Use Lava Pool to make quick work of the first three Small Illusionary Ambushers and this wave won’t prove threatening. If you fail to burn them down quickly, prepare to use CC or defensive cooldowns because they will hit hard.

Wave Spawns @ 12 oclock.

Stand everything in fire will help you kill and new adds that spawn as well as anything you carry over from your last wave. Interrupting the Flamecaller casts are not a priority if your NPC is doing alright on health. Instead, focus on ensuring you pick up any new adds that spawn. You can always drop a treant on the Flamecaller to ease the pressure on your NPC. Remember, for picking up Ambushers it’s best to use FF>Melee attacks>Taunt to pick up aggro. Bank up as much Rage as you can in prep for the next wave. I carried an Ambusher into wave 9 so don’t feel bad if you leave one up.

Notes: This wave deals a lot of damage, and the Small Illusionary Wind-Guard’ knockbacks coincide with the Ambusher’s spawns. Be ready to be knocked back right as you need to pick up Small Illusionary Ambushers. Quickly peel both the newly-spawned Small Illusionary Ambusher and the pair of Small Illusionary Wind-Guard off of Sikari the Mistweaver immediately. As always, CC and defensive cooldowns are tremendously valuable in handling the damage from the multitude of adds in this wave.

Wave 9 starts @ 9 oclock. It’s by far the hardest wave.

Throw a big CD up (I used Survival Insticts) and gather up initial aggro. You need to be damn sure you have everything aggro’ed on you because all of your other taunts and resources are going to go towards managing Wind Guards and the Mid-Wave spawns. You need to create seperation ASAP after getting aggro. . Remember, Ursol’s Vortex, Mass Entanglement, Stampeding Roar, and Sprint are all at your disposal to keep these bastards off of you. Kite like a crazy fool, use treants to babysit Wind Guards, and use the Ambusher hierarchy for taunts noted in wave 8.

Notes: Use the Large Illusionary Flamecaller’s lava to burn down the Large Illusionary Conqueror and Large Illusionary Ambusher once it spawns, dodge the Powerful Slams and use cooldowns when the Large Illusionary Conqueror casts Enrage and you should be able to handle this simple wave.

Wave spawn @ 6 oclock.

Have enough rage to use Savage Defense on the Conqueror and put a treant on whatever you don’t feel like tanking. This wave is easy peasy if you don’t forget about that stupid midwave spawn. I once had my first Wave 30 Endless achievement snatched away because I got too excited and forgot about that stupid Ambusher.